Griffin's Personality Traits in Black Like Me

Certain experiences can bring about a significant impact to an individual’s life this was especially true for John Howard Griffin. As 1 reflects on Griffin’s earlier life before Black Like Me was published, there had definitely been some painful and learning experiences. When he was called to war against Japan, he spent time and lived with African Americans. There, he got to understand the difficulties they had endured within racism, and he came to feel guilty about his own racist thoughts.

Not only did he suffer from seeing these awful events, he also lost his sight during the war against Japan. He eventually regained his sight, after which he began to View life in a very nonconformist approach compared to most people during his time. This became a turning point for Griffin, where he began to feel compelled as a civil rights activist to inform white people of their unfair treatment towards blacks.

The traits of personality John Howard Griffin demonstrated throughout the book of Black Like Me are his understanding, thoughtful, passionate, and courageous attitude.

First, Griffin took the opportunity to have a greater understanding of the white society’s treatment toward the Negroes, and he developed thoughtful ideas as to why this treatment was being used. In a quote stated by Griffin “1 was the same man who could not possibly have bought his way into this room a week ago“ (Griffin 124) He is saying that the black society is being judged on the color of their skin, not on the quality of one’s personality.

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Griffin is actually disgusted at how ridiculous it is that the whites restricted his stay at a hotel when Griffin was black, Furthermore, as Griffin reflects on a segregationist in the quote “When the segregationist argues that the negro is scholastically inferior, he presents the most eloquent possible argument for desegregated schools; he admits that as long as the Negro is kept in tenth-rated schools, he will remain scholastically behind white Children”.

There is the thought that whites want the Negro to stay inferior to them, Essentially, they won’t let the negro even have a chance to a quality education, because of their ignorance and lack of fairness. Not only was Griffin very etiquette in his thoughtful and distinguished mind, he also was very passionate about the whites treatment toward the blacks. Second, it is important to capture the sympathetic, and passionate reaction of Griffin as he experiences what it’s like to be a black man. As Griffin quotes, “I thought of my daughter, Susie, and of her fifth birthday today, the candles, the cake and party dress; and of my sons in their best suits. They slept now in clean beds in a warm house while their father, a baldheaded old negro, sat in the swamps and wept, holding it in so he would not wake the Negro children. He had been fully aware of how terrifying and horrific it is to experience the hardships the blacks had encountered John Howard Griffin can make the connection to what a black family has to go through, compared to his easier lifestyle back home as a white man.

Griffin quotes, “It was the same nightmare I had been having recently. White men and women, their faces stern and heartless, closed in on me, The hate stare burned through me, I pressed my back against a wall. I expect no pity, no mercy. They approached slowly and I could not escape them. Twice before, I had awakened myself screaming” .This quote demonstrates the importance of Griffin feeling like he is in eternal hell where there is no hope left for a negro. The inferiority and loneliness with nowhere to turn has really gotten ahold of him Griffin’s compassion for the negro had been exemplified through his courageous attitude. Lastly, the utmost important quality that Griffin demonstrated was his gutsy and courageous effort to explore what it was like to be a black man, In the quote “The only way I could see to bridge the gap between us was to become a Negro I decided to do this. I prepared to walk into a life that appeared suddenly mysterious and frightening” .

The decision to do this was very risky and bold for doing something he wanted a greater understanding of. Griffin sure had a plan, as he really wanted to put it to test with his ability to change his skin color. The quote “It could be dangerous to use, however”, exemplifies taking the chance for a potential dangerous situation to his body and remaining confident in his idea to discover the immoral human values of the white society To Conclude, John Howard Griffin had demonstrated exceptional understanding and thoughtful, passionate, and courageous qualities in his project that he worked very diligently on. His investigation of the inhumane and unreasonable treatment that the whites gave to the blacks were very thought-provoking and emotional. With the effort to be brave in his attempt to grab the attention of other white people in this time, was definitely the ethical idea to start awakening the white individuals of the dehumanization they performed. The experiences in his earlier life had probably had an impact on his activist approach in civil rights even though the book brought controversy among people in the US, it still allowed white individuals to see their inappropriate behavior.